Edited by Dave Hughes. Send posts to dcrtv@dcrtv.com. Put "MAILBAG" on the subject line. DCRTV can't take responsibility for message content, although we attempt to edit for taste and fairness. Each posting is solely the opinion of the person who wrote it. DCRTV cannot verify the factual accuracy or authorship of posts. If you see a message that's in poor taste or unfair to someone, contact us and it will be removed. Messages that don't deal with local media issues may not get posted. We can't forward messages to posters..... Support DCRTV and the world famous Mailbag! Just a few bucks a month is all we ask! Click here or go to paypal.me/dcrtv.....

Twitter has made reporters lazy. There’s no real desire to chase a story anymore. They just sit back and wait for the newsmaker to tweet. The problem is that news junkies also follow the newsmaker. So why not cut out the middle man? If you give a rat’s behind about Trump, you follow him on Twitter. The mainstream media never developed an effective strategy for countering social media. It just surrendered to it. And now the industry is gasping for breath because of it. (5/24/18)
So alleged newsradio 1090 is at it again. First, it touts an "exclusive" interview with a media whore attorney. What was exclusive about it? I read the same crap in the newspaper. More of the same lame posturing to be a news leader. And then this morning, the screamer was in front of an empty funeral home where a viewing will be held later in the afternoon. The same informatoin could have been read by a news anchor and that reporter might have better spent his time actually trying to dig up some real news. Guess there was no real news because Jayne Miller probably wasn't tweeting. (5/24/18)
Despite what you may have read in an earlier post on alleged news radio 1090, in my view, it is NOT ok for stations to advance a story using another station's tweets, even if the station is housed in the same building and shares the same call letters. Anyone with an iPhone can punch up the same tweets and read them for themselves. Back in the day, these tweets would have been viewed as "canned news," something real newsrooms refused to use in favor of a real voice, a real interview on a real telephone asking questions that did not enable the newsmaker on the other end any time to rehearse or prepare a bunch of bullshit spin. The real issue here is the fact that the staff (notice I did not say "reporters," as this station has none) at alleged news radio 1090 has no clue how to react to news; how to ask questions; how to advance stories to the next level; how to go after people for the updates, instead of waiting for Jayne Miller's next tweet. She does all these things and they don't, which is why SHE gets stories and they don't. Instead of reading her tweet, why didn't 1090 pick up the phone, work the story, and find out if/when charges were placed on the three thugs accused of killing the police officer? Why weren't THEY on the street searching for information?? By the way, it was Governor Larry Hogan tweeting the fact that the officer had passed, not someone from the station pushing this out. Instead of working stories, they let this obnoxious screaming idiot float all over town, blasting his day-old, newspaper-driven bullshit to tell us black bunting is hanging on the police station or funeral arrangements have been made...something we can learn on our own in yet another Jayne Miller tweet without them. (5/24/18)
Attention WTOP Listeners: It has come to our attention that a new FM “translator” radio station has been proposed in downtown Baltimore on 103.3 FM. This has the potential to end reception of WTOP in a portion of the city . If you want to continue to get news, traffic and weather from the top news source in the Washington-Baltimore region, we need your help. If you live, work or drive in the impacted area of Baltimore and listen to WTOP – let the Federal Communications Commission know that you want to keep WTOP in Baltimore by filling out the form below. Your name and address will be used on a public document on file at the F.C.C. but not shared with anyone else. The impacted area of Baltimore can be seen within the black contour on the map below. Click the + and – magnifiers to view map details. Thank you for your continued support. wtop.com (5/24/18)
Urban One paid $4.2 Million for WTEM 980 AM. Considering the amount of revenue on the station and the rights to carry the Redskins is a good deal. WMAL 630 AM also has the rights to carry the Redskins games. Since they moved their tower site to Germantown, MD they have no coverage at night in Northern Virginial However, they do have a FM at 105.9. (5/24/18)
Looks like Steve Kingston is consulting for Hubbard… wtop.com -Unsigned Corporate Suit (5/24/18)
Big complaint about 980 AM. All the local hosts think listeners want to hear only their voices. Listeners really would like to hear give and take with callers. Interactive radio has always been more successful than without listener participation. So many opinions available but the stupid hosts think only their opinions matter. The hosts on that radio station are WRONG! (5/24/18)

/\ May 24 Messages /\\/ May 23 Messages \/

The last time WKYS and WTEM (formerly WRC 980 AM) were united, NBC owned the stations and Bruce Houston was the general manager. Houston put a CHR format on 980 AM and "Beautiful Music" on WKYS. NBC sold both stations and the rest is history. Urban One will do well with these stations. However, WTEM needs to find a translator in Northern Virginia to improve their night-time coverage. (5/23/18)
"Now that WMAL 630 AM has moved their tower site to Germantown, MD, you cannot hear them in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia after sunset." (END) Proof that there *is* a God and He wants the best for us. - Yes for those who are too stupid to change the dial themselves. (5/23/18)
Will the “Alleged Newsradio 1090” poster please go away? It’s just the same post over and over and over. We know you hate WBAL radio. You made your point. In the beginning, it was interesting. Now you’re just making nonsense arguments. People don’t remember the day when fledging TV station news organizations quoted radio news departments for breaking stories. Yes, local radio news divisions were once larger than most TV station divisions. So there’s hardly anything wrong with WBAL radio quoting Jayne Miller, a sister station employee. You’re the only person who sees anything wrong with it. In fact, with the President making news on Twitter daily, Twitter is now a public news source used by even TV stations. (5/23/18)
Urban WZEB (Power 101.7) in Salisbury/Ocean City, Md. welcomes Amber Green to the all new "POWER SQUAD MORNING SHOW" with Bill Baker & Amber Green. Amber replaces the exiting Jessica Martinez who has been PD Bill Baker's Long time partner of almost 10 years. Jessica is leaving to pursue other opportunities outside of radio. Although you still may hear here from time to time. Amber comes with media & community experience. PD & Morning Host Bill Baker says "Jessica has big shoes to fill on and off the air, Amber is by far the best person for the job. For what Jess did, I consider myself blessed we found her". (5/23/18)
Dave: I'm told the Radio One people are solid professionals/owners and a good move
by Snyder to sell. Moving forward, Radio One should discontinue sportstalk on 980
and show the market there's only one real sports station and that's 106.7. Yesterday,
I accidentally caught a few minutes of Bram's show and I while stuck in traffic on I-95,
was trying to figure out why Bram thinks he's so important, when he's not. I guess
he's playing off of his former ESPN days. Again, I can't believe their current PD allows
so much talking from show producers, it's so annoying and unprofessional. I don't
know what's worse, hearing Doc pretend to know and talk about hockey or Czaban's
almighty, talking down to his listeners. Hope the changes come soon. (5/23/18)
Once again, alleged newsradio 1090 shows its pathetic weakness. This morning in the 8 o'clock news, they go to the screamer who has "new" details in the death of the Baltmore police officer. He then reports what Jayne Miller has tweeted 10 minutes previously. So now I guess reading Jayne Miller's tweets on the air makes you a news leader? Instead of sitting in front of a police station playing soundbites from a day old news conference, maybe you could actually learn to do some original reporting. No worries though. I'm sure your "15 greatest Baltimore sports moments" will keep you at 14th. (5/23/18)
Urban One purchasing WTEM (former WRC-AM) will create a kind of reunion because it already owns WKYS (the former WRC-FM). Both would again become sister stations under one company. (5/23/18)
To the question of how much Cumulus was paid for the WMAL-AM transmitter site: the much bandied about figure is $75 million but I’ll bet that is conditional on Toll Brothers getting what they want from Montgomery County and they seem to be coming down with a case of cold feet. It’s complicated. Can’t we embed a spy into the Cumulus accounting department? In any event the amount is a rounding error in the billions owed by Cumulus to lenders. (5/23/18)

/\ May 23 Messages /\\/ May 22 Messages \/

Urban One now owns the maximum number of stations in the DC Market that they can own, according to the FCC Rules. Eight Stations in DC with four AM and four FM. (Translators don't count). Translators are going to be called Metro Radio Stations in the future. (5/22/18)
WTEM? They're still on the air? (5/22/18)
(QUOTE) "Now that WMAL 630 AM has moved their tower site to Germantown, MD, you cannot hear them in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia after sunset." (END) Proof that there *is* a God and He wants the best for us. (5/22/18)
I live in Woodbridge VA And if I'm not mistaken I use to receive an oldies station on 1370 quite clear this is going back maybe 13 years ago Did 1370 change their transmitter location? I can no longer recieve it not even in the car this was back in the day when we had oldies on 102.7 now Jack FM BIG 100.3 And 95.9 WGRQ I mean they all played real oldies from the 60s and even some 50s now on 95.9 you hear an occasional Beatles Supremes during the day and 60s songs mainly during the Mike Harvey request show evenings a great show.WKCW 1420 Is decent but they need to play more Beatles plus solo hits from the Beatles as well.I never hear Mamas and the Papas Monkees Lovin Spoonful neither but a good playlist. (5/22/18)
I was FIRED UP when I heard Dan Snyder sold the team, then I remembered
he owned the radio station and thought, oh yeah that TEAM #980 (5/22/18)
Congratulations to Urban One on buying WTEM 980 AM from Red Zebra. They plan to keep sports and sports talk on the station. WTEM has good coverage of the DC Market during the daytime but no coverage in Northern Virginia at night due to where the WTEM towers are located in Maryland and their directional signal at night. They need a Translator in Northern Virginia at night. The best Translator signal at night in Northern Virginia are either 106.3 FM in Manassas or 102.9 FM in Reston. (5/22/18)
Now that WMAL 630 AM has moved their tower site to Germantown, MD, you cannot hear them in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia after sunset. You can get them on their 105.9. How much money did Cumulus get for selling their Bethesda Site? (5/22/18)
Just when we thought alleged news radio 1090 couldn't get any worse, the ABC Radio Network adds to this morning mess with a soundbite of Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan, identified in their 7 a.m. hourly newscast as Governor Larry Hogan. I have to wonder if this station provided it that way, as no one in the newsroom or on the air there this morning caught it and corrected it. Even THEY don't listen to this mess. The story, of course, involves yesterday's line of duty death of a Baltimore County police officer in Perry Hall. This station had NO ONE on the street, but rather relied on Tweets and ripped audio from its sister television station, which they regurgitated over and over this morning instead of advancing this story with a fresh lead. We still do not know the name of this officer, nearly 24 hours after her death. There is no update from county police, and apparently no one with enough experience in the newsroom to reach out to the county police spokesman or Chief Sheridan to talk about TODAY'S events, NOT YESTERDAY'S!!!! Should residents remain on lockdown or do they think these individuals have left the area? Have you stepped up patrols at the schools and nearby neighborhoods? What about the paramedics who treated and transported her? Where are they? Why did they take this officer to a local ER instead of airlifting her to shock trauma? Instead, they conduct a lame interview with a clueless county councilman who didn't even have the courtesy to offer condolences to the family of this officer and her fellow officers when initially asked for his thoughts. Don't panic if you missed all this mess. They'll replay it over and over all day with promises to "follow the story and provide you updates" throughout the day. Don't hold your breath. The real stick in the eye for this station just occurred on the ABC hourly at 8, as they scooped this pathetic station with news of the arrest of a 16-year old suspect, followed by that obnoxious screamer who credited WBAL-TV's Jayne Miller with breaking news of the teen's arrest and the search for three others. Unbelievable! (5/22/18)
I just went back thru my DVR recording to be sure, and I think it really happened: at right around 57:50 into Monday's "All In with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC, it sounds like a crew member (or his guest) blew a fart so loud it could have knocked a camera out of focus. If anyone has access to the show, it happens right around the time Chris says, "waive your right to sue". Can anyone confirm? (5/22/18)
So with a police officer killed in the line of duty, a manhunt underway and numerous schools on lockdown with parents unable to reach their children, alleged newsradio 1090 goes to coverage of a political debate among democratic candidates for governor. So much for being the news leader. Interesting to note that their sister TV stations stayed with coverage of the officer story and bumped the debate to MeTV. But really, did we need either? Andre Hepkins led the pack with the number of times he repeated tweets with “new information.” Wasn’t new to those of us that know how to read tweets just like you do Andre. When Jayne Miller finally hangs it up, turn the lights out on serious, thoughtful and informative broadcast news coverage in Baltimore. (5/22/18)

/\ May 22 Messages /\\/ May 21 Messages \/

Dave - looks like WKYS is getting a new morning show.
They have removed 'The Fam In the Morning' from the website and scrubbed it of hosts.
Quck Silva, DJ 5'9 and Danni Starr have been removed as talent on page. (5/21/18)
I was listening to “Saturday Morning Update With Rick Fowler” on May 19th. Fowler thanked Steve Burns for his reporting at WMAL, and Burns thanked the staff at WMAL. Burns said that he will be joining WCBS in New York. (5/21/18)
How much is Urban One paying Red Zebra to purchase WTEM 980 AM? This will give Urban One, four AM Stations and four FM Staions in DC. (5/21/18)
Here's a novelty -- a station on AM worth listening to! WQLL 1370AM is based north of Baltimore somewhere, but puts a good signal to the East and the southwest into DC. The station's format is kind of a classic rock/oldies playlist, and they don't have very many commercials. Sunday there's strange little show with someone named Scott Shannon, who sounds like a robot or one of those automated, synthesized voice things that makes robocalls. But the audio voice, whatever it is, does a historical oldies thing with some storytelling and the date around the song's ranking on a Top 40. I had a spare button that I deleted when WTOP left 1500 AM and it is nice to fill it with something to punch into from time to time. (5/21/18)
980 sold? To whom and for how much? Are the new owners keeping current talent/staff and format? (5/21/18)
The wife and I watched the DVR'ed Royal Wedding from Channel 4 Saturday evening. For hours it was the usual Today-show yuk-it-up waste of time, though most of the video feed was from the BBC (you could tell it was BBC if no NBC people were visible and acting like anybody cared what they thought). Then suddenly, as it got to at noon BST, the picture and sound became all BBC for the entire wedding procession and ceremony, no NBC interruptions. For the first time ever, the sound from NBC (really BBC-generated) was perfectly clear and natural, with true 5.1 Surround sound making the real echoes in the Church sound as if you were actually in there. The music and singing were crystal clear and equally balanced through all speakers, and the sub-woofer blended in perfectly and naturally. And of course the camera work was like a work of art, for a change. Then somewhat over an hour later, the Today show people started chiming in over what, after all that BBC perfection, sounded like 1940s-style microphones. Obviously, the networks have the broadcast equipment to send out perfect sound; they have cheap poorly-placed microphones and poor sound compression when it's their own source. If a hard-to-control space like that chapel can sound like you are actually there, why does "The Voice" sound so flat and cheap in comparison? Then again, AM radio in the UK is better sounding than most FM radio stations in the US (even on my cheap portable radio in my hotel in London), so I've answered my own question. But, wow, when that wedding and sermon, and the song "Stand by Me" and the other choral groups were singing, you could swear you were in the building. Even the cellist was broadcast so clearly, you could hear every harmonic every time he rested a finger on a string, as if you were right there. Amazing. -- Carl in Olney (5/21/18)

/\ May 21 Messages /\\/ May 20 Messages \/

Hi Dave ! We had Ch.4 on at work last night but weren't watching too closely. A story came on by Darcy Spencer about a young boy killed at Franconia Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia. Tragic story-line and then they abruptly cut back to Darcy who was laughing and joking with someone off-screen. The look on her face when she realized what had gone out over the air... wow. I looked around the room, and everyone working there was now gaping at the TV screen.
Someone had the clip posted to her Twitter ; twitter.com.
What do you think ?
MG (5/20/18)
WBAL TV had Preakness Stakes coverage all day long sans Donna Hamilton today, who was at home giving out food recipes on Facebook. Definitely missed her on the show. Also, poor Lowell Melser was in the infield. Once again somebody dropped a bomb on him in the infield. This time, “Let’s all get some pussy” got aired on WBAL TV. The control booth briefly flashed a WBAL TV logo over poor Lowell, but it was too late. Obviously, no seconds delay on his reports. Gerry Sandusky even joked, “Keep in mind, there’s an FCC license on the line here every time we go to Lowell." (5/20/18)

/\ May 20 Messages /\\/ May 19 Messages \/

Greencastle is just a few miles north of Hagerstown on I-81..
WRGG-LP operates on 93.7 FM and streams online at wrgg.org...
"Greencastle radio serves hometown and takes on the world"
by Joyce Nowell, May 19, 2018 , Hagerstown Herald-Mail...
www.heraldmedia.com (5/19/18)
Two TV stories about an AM throwback in metro Richmod (WBTL 1540 / WUWN 1450) . .. Unfortunately one of stations that went away in the process was AM 1450 WCLM, Highland Springs, an eccletic timebroker..
wtvr.com... www.wric.com...
TK in Odenton (5/19/18)
WJAL is owned by Entravision, but LATV is not. They are owned by LATV Networks, LLC. If I had to guess, WJAL's contract with LATV expired and that's why the Heartland Network is on in its place.
Andrew Fauver (5/19/18)

/\ May 19 Messages /\\/ May 18 Messages \/

"I understand that WTEM 980's morning show was discussing..." You mean they are still broadcasting? All I hear on 980 is noise from the power lines and static crashes from approaching storms. (5/18/18)
Re: WJAL/Heartland: It's really strange. Heartland put out a trumped-up press release because they landed an LD in the Florence SC market, so I'm sure they would be even more excited about a top-10 station. It seems plausible there was some sort of satellite equipment failure at the station. WJAL has separate equipment from WUSA up until each video stream is encoded for broadcast - channel-shares are more akin to diplexing than being a subchannel. Luken's channels are relatively well-produced and available via streaming, so it would be a quick fix. Unless an LMA we don't know about yet is involved, it doesn't make sense that Entravision would just ditch its own network. (5/18/18)
Interesting speculation about newsradio 1090 flipping formats. There just may be something to that. How many people are in the news department there? And how much of an expense is that on the station? Compare that to the personnel cost at WCBM. Perhaps 1090 is waiting for its FM translator to make the switch. Today was another day of the screamer grunting, groaning, growling and screeching his way through the lead story of the morning - telling us that a horse trainer likes a band. And why was an experienced, talented and professional broadcaster like Bill Vanko demoted and exiled to weekends? How can the suits listen to the weekday mess and think he belongs on weekends? 1090 was known for excellence, talent and big voices. Now you have people like this Phil Yacuboski guy who couldn’t pass a fourth grade grammar test. The other day he said “The mayor hasn’t spoke to him.” Dude. Try “spoken to him.” Alexa - enable WBAL. By the way, Spiegel on 98 Rock made me laugh the other day when he said, “Coming up, the forecast, which you can get right now on your phone.” (5/18/18)
[What's your point?] You completely missed it. But if yours was that sensationalism in the news has reached new lows, then that might be one thing the rest of us could agree with you on. (5/18/18)

/\ May 18 Messages /\\/ May 17 Messages \/

I see that ABC, NBC and CBS are all scheduled for all out coverage of the latest "Royal Wedding" starting around 4am Saturday. Can someone explain why? Other than Christine Sullivan on Night Court, the Hollywood gossip shows and Jeopardy clue writers, I don't know anyone who gives a rats a$$ about this. Why are the media, and presumably many American citizens, consumed with this? 240+ years since independence from the crown. Why do we, and why should we, care. I'm sincerely curious about this, because I simply don't get it. And on another topic. "Screaminn Scottie" was on with Brett Hollander this afternoon, and he was actually TALKING. He gave a nice story about the upcoming Preakness. So, Scott...how is it you can talk normally with Brett yet still insist on the faux reporting style? Just talk to us and quit with the 'phony-ism'. If you can get past his delivery, he really doesn't do a bad job. (5/17/18)
Anyone know who the mysterious woman is that says, “WCTN Potomac – Cabin John”? I think that the legal ID is the only liner on the station. MLB4 (5/17/18)
Well, you’re half right. WKCW is my work, but WCTN hasn’t had my fingerprint on it in at least 5 years. -Roth (5/17/18)
If you're going to cite NWS to defend your argument, you should learn how to read their reports. You quoted NWS: "At 528 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Charles Town, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...Tennis ball size hail and 70 mph wind gusts." That's their list of possibilities, NOT a report of what had already happened. Again, no baseball sized hail fell in WTOP's broadcast area. It hasn't, ever, as far as anyone knows. Are you going to try to prove me wrong now by quoting a weather report from even further afield? From another century? What's your point? (5/17/18)
Oldies Format......Both WKCW 1420 AM and WCTN 950 AM are programmed by Chris Roth. Now you know! (5/17/18)
I understand that WTEM 980's morning show was discussing whether you'd trade a Stanley Cup title by the Capitals for one playoff win by the Redskins the other day and the segment got picked up by an out-of-town hockey blogger who publicized it on Twitter. Now I have no idea how much (or little) attention Danny Boy Radio's been paying to the Caps' first conference finals appearance in 20 years (preferring to patronize the team's flagship 106.7 The Fan which has been all over the story) but it's totally predictable that 980 would try and tie everything going on locally with hockey to the burgundy and gold (and in an unfavorable light). I've heard it all before back when that station was the lone sports radio option in DC - "a Skins preseason scrimmage gets much higher local TV ratings than any Caps playoff game", "there are only 18,000 hockey fans in the DMV and they're the ones who go to all the games", "if Alex Ovechkin and the Skins backup punter were walking through Tysons Corner Mall together, the latter would be mobbed and the former ignored", etc., etc., etc. None of that matters right now - the Caps have already accomplished something no other major DC pro team has been able to do since 1992 and thus deserve to have the spotlight to themselves for as long as their postseason run lasts. (5/17/18)
[From DCRTV's Job Ads:] Harford Community College,
WHFC Radio Station Assistant -
Harford Community College is located in Bel Air, MD, in the heart of Harford County and convenient to I-95. WHFC takes pride in producing and presenting programs that reflect community tastes and standards, rather than dictate them. The program alternatives presented allow WHFC to serve a broad cross section of listeners in Harford County, plus significant portions of Baltimore, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's counties in Maryland, and York and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania. WHFC is seeking a Radio Station Assistant to assist the WHFC managers in ensuring the station operates within FCC parameters and fulfill the mission of the station. A high school diploma or GED and one or more years of experience at a radio station or similar environment required; some college or trade school preferred. Physical requirements include the ability to climb a ladder and to work under counters in low, cramped spaces. To view job details and apply online go to www.harford.edu/careers. pplication deadline is June 6, 2018. HCC is a smoke/tobacco-free campus. HCC is an AA / EEO / ADA employer committed to diversity in the college community. (5/17/18)
I was flipping around Sunday night and found out that WJAL 68, which had been showing LATV, had flipped to the Heartland channel. I started looking around the Internet to see whether this had been publicized in any way, and to my surprise there wasn't anything--not even from Heartland's own website--saying they had gotten WJAL as an affiliate. (5/17/18)
It's too early to make annual awards but I'm voting Angie Goff's trip to the UK for the boondoggle of the year. The reports are not of any significant value and, at least during the afternoon news broadcasts, we got redundant coverage from both Angie's reports and Jay Gray's reports. That's too much coverage of something that is more Entertainment Tonight fake news and not breaking local/national news. At least Jay doesn't need to wearing hats too distract viewers from from their vapidness. (5/17/18)
As the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes quickly approaches, it is very interesting to note that alleged news radio 1090 is now losing the horse race for radio ratings in the Baltimore market to 10 other stations, including WCBM, which holds the 11th position ahead of alleged news radio 1090's 14th ranking. This is huge for WCBM, the only other significant news/talk format in Baltimore that has finally taken the lead over this deteriorating station that can no longer promote itself as "Baltimore's news leader." The showing is found in the just-released April book which at one time was one of the strongest for this once-powerful station when it served as the flagship station for the Baltimore Orioles. According to the latest ratings, the downward spiral confirms the many posts on here citing continuing mediocrity, unprofessionalism, and a poor overall news product. I predict that alleged news radio 1090 will flip the format, possibly to sports talk such as ESPN Radio one morning in a surprise move to empty the place out. The timing couldn't be better. After all, "spring cleaning" is such a Baltimore tradition. (5/17/18)
Today's 'Mark Trail' comic strip in the Washington Post has gone back to a winning formula from its recent past: badly-placed word balloons (prior examples can be seen at www,cracked.com).
Today it's a Talking Whale that has been beached. Welcome back, Mark (and welcome back, Mark Trail Guy)! (5/17/18)
Memo to our two local Oldies-formatted AM'ers: check which music log you're loading in the mornings. Both WKCW and WCTN played "Bernadette" by the Four Tops only about three minutes apart between 7:30 and 7:45 this morning. Are both stations programmed by the same dude? (5/17/18)

Dave's response: Mr. Roth, I presume?

/\ May 17 Messages /\\/ May 16 Messages \/

Re: ReelRadio.com - From Richard Wagoner of the LA Daily News,"I am having withdrawal symptoms … dry mouth, can’t sleep … due to the sudden shutdown of ReelRadio.Com, the virtual museum of classic top-40 radio stations. Here you once found recordings of stations dating back to the 1920s. The founder of the site, Richard Irwin shut-down the site, hopefully temporarily, due to health issues. Posted on his Twitter page and reposted on the Fans of ReelRadio Facebook page, Irwin wrote, “REELRADIO will be taking a break until my body is healed. My hands may be broken but my heart is thankful for all the support over 22 years. Thank You!”" (5/16/18)
Interesting thing about the April book to me is that the Orioles helped WJZ-FM “The Fan” go up a full share, while the Ravens (in the Fall) don’t do all that much for WIYY “98 Rock” numbers-wise. Most Baltimore stations were flat except WJZ’s Orioles boost, WPOC had quite a drop and WWMX “Mix 106.5” had a big jump too. On the conservative talk front, WCBM was flat-ish, while WBAL dropped quite a bit, making WCBM the winner there. It will be interesting to see what the new FM translator does for WBAL when they get it up and running this summer or fall. Hat’s off to WWIN “Magic 95.9” for taking the ratings crown with a small 3KW signal, showing that good targeted programming matters just as much as a good signal…
Does anyone know if WTMD stopped paying Nielsen (like WRNR did years ago), or are they just not even showing up now? (5/16/18)
[Re: Morons at WTOP... there are NO other reports of such hail to be found, anywhere.] There are actually several reports of golf ball to tennis ball sized hail during that time. The warning from the NWS even called for that potential and the threat was simply relayed through the media that way. NWS SVR text follows: "At 528 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Charles Town, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...Tennis ball size hail and 70 mph wind gusts." I think it is a good thing for everyone to see your perspective though. -Dave (5/16/18)
Ratings analysis from Tom Taylor Now: Washington, DC gives Hubbard all-newser WTOP and its regional simulcast almost everything they had in the March book, though ’TOP must settle for a third-place tie at night. Last month it won all the dayparts outright, except for a first-place tie from 7pm-midnight. Total week, WTOP runs 10.2-10.4-9.6. Still second is American U.’s not-for-profit news/talk WAMU (9.2-8.1-8.5, and #1 at night). New in third place is Urban One’s urban AC “Majic” WMMJ/WDCJ (5.6-5.6-5.8), just ahead of Howard University’s commercial urban AC WHUR (6.2-6.1-5.7). Fifth this time is iHeart’s classic rocker, WBIG-FM (4.7-4.6-4.8). Sixth is Cumulus talker WMAL-AM/FM (4.6-5.0-4.5), doing that with just the #18-highest cume. It’s followed by AC WASH (iHeart, 4.7-4.5-5.3), WGTS (the Seventh Day Adventist-connected not-for-profit contemporary Christian station, 3.2-4.0-4.2) and Entercom’s urban WPGC (4.5-3.9-4.1). Cumulus also has hot AC “Mix” WRQX (3.1-3.6-3.8). Out of that group, Majic is #2 at night, ’MAL is second middays with Chris Plante and Rush Limbaugh, and WGTS is fourth on weekends. We’ve been tracking baseball on the radio, and Nationals flagship “Fan” WJFK-FM is up, 2.4-2.4-3.1. It’s fourteenth at night. We give you the leading station for weekly cume in each market, and for D.C. that’s news WTOP (1,190,200)..... Baltimore keeps the “Magic” alive for Urban One’s urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM (116-11.5-10.3). It’s not quite in double digits for middays, but it lives at that level in every other daypart. Claiming second is Entercom’s AC WLIF (7.0-6.3-6.8), followed by Magic’s younger brother, urban WERQ (6.3-6.7-6.2). “92Q” is tied for second from 3pm to midnight, and places second on weekends. Fourth with “its largest share since June 2015,” says Chris Huff, is Entercom’s hot AC “Mix” WWMX (4.7-4.6-5.4, and third on weekends). Fifth is Entercom’s sports “Fan” WJZ-FM (4.4-4.0-5.0, and third middays and tied for second at night with the Orioles). Sixth is iHeart’s country WPOC (6.2-6.4-4.9) and seventh is Hearst’s “98 Rock” WIYY (4.4-4.7 and another 4.7). Its “Justin, Scott & Spiegel” are second in mornings. The talk world is Mangione family-owned talk WCBM (3.0-3.2-3.1) tied with Your Public Radio’s not-for-profit news/talk WYPR (3.7-3.2-3.1), and Hearst’s news/talk WBAL (3.1-3.3-2.8). As usual, AC WLIF draws the highest cume (675,300). (5/16/18)
With all the talk about Cumulus, their stock price went up to 3 cents per share! (5/16/18)
I was thinking about this the other day. We’re in a booming economy and most of the radio station group companies are in bankruptcy or near it. If we have even a min-recession in the next several years, could ANY of them survive? Doubtful. (5/16/18)
Interesting......re: "At 5:23 PM, tennis ball sized hail was reported near Charlestown, WV from a severe storm that moved into Loudoun County a few minutes later. Source: National Weather Service. " It actually is NOT from the NWS...it's from Channel 9, and there are NO other reports of such hail to be found, anywhere. Channel 9 never said where those reports came from. And, again, NWS never said any such thing. Pretty sure I can guess which local station you work at, my pointed headed little friend. (5/16/18)

/\ May 16 Messages /\\/ May 15 Messages \/

Has anyone noticed the variation of the sound for WRC-TV, Ch. 4? Especially loud are the reporters outside compared to the anchors. Thanks. (5/15/18)
Sad to have to report that the legendary aircheck site, reelradio.com is no more. (5/15/18)
Patrina (Colby) Aubol, the former owner of WTHU, Thurmont, passed away Saturday. Her first husband, Lauren Colby, started WTHU in 1967. The station came with the divorce. She eventually married the late Dean Aubol, who was the sales manger until they both retired and she sold WTHU in the late 80's. A lot of people got their start in radio at that little match stick. Obit: www.legacy.com (5/15/18)
[Morons on WTOP were actually warning that the DC area might get "baseball size hail."] At 5:23 PM, tennis ball sized hail was reported near Charlestown, WV from a severe storm that moved into Loudoun County a few minutes later. Source: National Weather Service. The severe thunderstorm warning issued by NWS also stated the potential of hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter, roughly that of a baseball. The tendency for people like the original poster to craft their own versions of the truth without facts or awareness – some might argue – is at least one reason the press is important, despite their imperfections and dramatizations. -Dave (5/15/18)
Re: "Once again, alleged news radio 1090 shows us just how pathetic and non-competitive this station has become...Hearst, are you listening???" The answer, obviously, is "NO." And after the dozens and dozens of posts you've made on this topic, I'd think you'd realize that nobody else is, either. (5/15/18)
RE: "The spawn of Fox Fake morning news host Steve Doocy an still barely read the teleprompter after working there many years. #nepotismisREAL”… And you cannot even spell well enough to criticize him! Congrats! HAHA! (5/15/18)
Once again, alleged news radio 1090 shows us just how pathetic and non-competitive this station has become in what's left of the dead-AM radio world of news. This once-powerful station employed street reporters such as Tom Lattanzi and Don Geary who broke exclusive stories every day in competition with WCBM's Eddie Fenton and his inside anchor, Dave Humphrey; WFBR's Ron Matz and Tom Marr; and WCAO's reporters, including Frank Luber. They staked out City Hall; courthouses; state, county and local government offices; they attended meetings both day and night and most of all, they were creative and enterprising in their coverage. They got stories no one else had. Take today's story of the resignation of Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl DeSousa. It took WBAL-TV's Jayne Miller and her decades of source contacts (many of them in or retired from the police department) to break this story at noon today. You would have seen Lattanzi, Matz and Fenton staking out City Hall for the mayor or at police headquarters early this morning and one, if not all of them, would have had the story, or at least they would have had sufficient source information to predict it; and, it would have been the lead, not some meaningless, bullshit fluff piece about horses arriving for some stupid horse race. That was then. Now, all we get is this hyperactive idiot who floats around town every morning, screaming pre-recorded wrap-arounds on day-old television news interviews, or following some other useless story from the day before. There is NO attempt to break stories, or initiate one that would give people a legitimate reason to listen. There is NO follow up. This station follows every one else's news, it does not create it. They read everybody else's Tweets and Facebook posts. If you removed the Internet from this newsroom, they'd have nothing to report. Now that I think about it, that's not a bad idea. Hearst, are you listening??? (5/15/18)
A couple of things: first, can anyone tell me why (every so often) if you tune into WTDK 107.1) seems like sound is only coming from the left channel? I find this annoying! Maybe the average listener doesn’t even know it! Problem, of course, is that if a tune is played that has real good stereo separation, you’re only going to hear part of the mix! I would say it’s in the satellite feed! But I used to even notice it when they had local programming during the day! The other thing I wanted to mention: in reading the piece on Carl Kassel (unless I missed something) and maybe I’m thinking of a different person, but didn’t Carl Kassel work for a while in the late 60s on WPIK in Alexandra, VA.?
Tom in Denton, MD. (5/15/18)
Why is the Entercom stock dropping every day? Today their stock is down to $7.23 per share. How many Billions did they borrow to buy out the CBS Radio Stations? Will this be another Cumulus or iHeart? (5/15/18)
A previous poster asked why doesn't Wall Street like the Radio Stocks. Could it be because the two largest Radio Companies are in Bankruptcy and two move are on the verge of Bankruptcy? Does that sound like a good investment opportunity? (5/15/18)

/\ May 15 Messages /\\/ May 14 Messages \/

On the drive home tonight the morons on WTOP were actually warning that the DC area might get "baseball size hail." Give me a fucking break. They're just making their weather forecasts up off the top of their pointy little heads. (5/14/18)
The spawn of Fox Fake morning news host Steve Doocy an still barely read the teleprompter after working there many years. #nepotismisREAL (5/14/18)
Another credit where credit is due: Fattt Robbb Spewak announced today on the Mike O'Meara Virginia ABC doesn't want to deal with him because he doesn't pay his $26,000 in fines podcast that...... he finally weighs less than 300 pounds. Gus in the Gaithersburg, not morbidly obese because I don't consider Tater Tot Casserole to be food (5/14/18)
Yes, I farked that up, typing Comcast when I meant to type Cumulus. Good catch. I applesauce. Gus in the Gaithersburg (5/14/18)
How much is Bloomberg paying Entercom to lease WDCH 99.1 FM in DC? Why doesn't Bloomberg just purchase the station? (5/14/18)

/\ May 14 Messages /\\/ May 13 Messages \/

"1000 Shares of Comcast for $30. This is false. Obviously, he doesn't know what he is talking about. " Do you even math bro?" I'm not the OP. But, in the interest of not letting idiotic comments go unchallenged, Comcast is selling for $31.90. So your $30 doesn't even buy 1 share. I'm no math genius, but at just under $32 per share, 1000 shares would run...let me get my calculator out....just under $32,000. Are you by some chance confusing Comcast and Cumulus? "Dave, I wonder if you should be allowing such racist posts, but at the end of the day it's your site." Um... yeah. (5/13/18)
Urban One and Salem are at new lows.......Urban One at $1.70 and Salem at $3.35. What has changed with these companies? (5/13/18)

/\ May 13 Messages /\\/ May 12 Messages \/

"Why does DCRTV print False Statements from this jerk in Gaithersburg? In a new post he stated that you could buy 1000 Shares of Comcast for $30. This is false. Obviously, he doesn't know what he is talking about. " Do you even math bro? Why you such a racist bro? Dave, I wonder if you should be allowing such racist posts, but at the end of the day it's your site. Gus in the Gaithersburg (5/12/18)
What is happening to the Entercom Stock? Their 52-week low was $7.60 per share. Today it dropped to an all time low of $7.45 per share. (5/12/18)
To the person who inquired about WTTG/Channel 5's telecast of a polygraph-based game show in the early 1980's: According to a 1982 advertisement in Broadcasting Magazine, there was a syndicated game show called "Lie Detector" and was distributed by Sandy Frank's company (the same Sandy Frank that was famous for syndicating the dubbed versions of the Japanese Daiei "Gamera" films for local television stations, which were famously riffed years later on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"). The advertisement noted that the series was available to local stations in Jan. 1983 and was hosted by trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey. Not sure if any of the other Metromedia television stations at the time picked up "Lie Detector." www.americanradiohistory.com (5/12/18)

/\ May 12 Messages /\\/ May 11 Messages \/

As widely rumored and posted here, the Fox Network has bought 7 Sinclair Broadcasting stations, pretty much ensuring approval of their merger with Tribune without any late breaking development. Sinclair still claims it doesn't have to sell these TV stations, but it will put them under the FCC cap limit. It's the same TBA stations I announced the other day. Fox wants a TV station in Seattle, Miami, Denver mainly, but they're taking Cleveland, Sacramento, San Diego, Salt Lake City with them. I found it interesting that Sinclair is keeping other TV stations in places like Denver & Seattle, but it's totally ditching the Cleveland market. Miami will have a network switch soon as WSVN 7 will most certainly lose the Fox Network. (5/11/18)
Shakeup at 105.7 The Fan, TONY LOMBARDI GONE. No more Ravens reports from Tony Lombardi or his weekend show as he's apparently been suspended/let go by the station for an April Fools Day Prank his show played. More as we here it...
-- BaltoMedia.net (5/11/18)
The FCC has made a decision in favor of Historic Takoma WOWD-LP against a translator that has been wreaking them havoc. In the letter decision, the FCC stated that the translator licensee did not address any of the listener complaints and failed to respond to a FCC inquiry on the matter. In the letter decision, the FCC dismissed the translator's license to cover and ordered the translator W257BW to cease operation immediately. (5/11/18)
An update to the WMAL AM 630 decommissioning of their historic site from Bethesda to Germantown. DC's iconic News/talk station WMAL radio definitively says Goodbye to Baltimore and many areas with it's newer weaker signal. 105.9 FM fixes the Virginia problem, but not in Maryland. Sad end to an iconic historic great radio signal. -- BaltoMedia.net (5/11/18)
What would it take for Cumulus and iHeart to have a debt free Balance Sheet? Cumulus has a $2 Billion Debt and iHeart has a $20 Billion Debt now. The companies would be profitable if it without their debt. (5/11/18)
How can Urban One justify a salary of $6,194,094 + Benefits to Alfred Liggins when their stock is at an all time low of just $1.85 per share? If these Public Companies tied the President's Salary to their stock price value, I think you would fine their stock prices would improve. Look at the high salaries that Cumulus and iHeart are paying their Chief Executives. (5/11/18)
Entercom Stock price continues to drop. It closed today 5/10 at $7.65 per share. Their 52 week low is $7.60 per share. The CBS Radio Stations were all good stations. Why does their stock continue to drop? (5/11/18)
"...this jerk in Gaithersburg ... stated that you could buy 1000 Shares of Comcast for $30... Obviously, he doesn't know what he is talking about." Here in America, we have this invention called "a joke". Typically, a story or a statement with a surprise twist or implausible conclusion, with the intent of causing a humorous reaction in the intended audience. You really should look into it (apologies to Cecil Adams). (5/11/18)

/\ May 11 Messages /\\/ May 10 Messages \/

Hi Dave-- My colleagues and I have been racking our brains (three of us are local and vaguely remember this) about a TV show that aired at like 7:30 PM on WTTG in the early 80's.
There was a man who administered lie detector tests to two people within the half hour. I can't find a reference for it anywhere on the web but between the 3 of us we have vague recollection of it.
Do you know what it was?
Julio (5/10/18)
Liberty Media is interested in buying part of iHeart. They still have $20 Billion in Debt! If they buy the DC Stations will they be required to divest one of their six FM Stations in DC? Under FCC Rules, the maximum number of FM Stations a company can own is five stations. iHeart owns six stations in DC because 11 years ago they put one of their stations in their "Trust". The FCC permitted this for the Clear Channel sale to be approved under the " Required Divestiture". ......Another loophole in the FCC Rules! When is our government going to "Drain the Swamp" at the FCC? (5/10/18)
Who is a Minority today? Is it a Black Person? DC is 50% Black. Is it a Gay Person? We don't know how many Gay Persons there are in DC. Is it a Spanish Person? There are more than 800,000 Hispanic People in the DC Metro Area according to BIA. Who determines what a Minority is today? Maybe it is our government or perhaps the FCC? (5/10/18)
Do you like Spanish Music? Try the new WTNT Spanish CHR Format. It sounds great! You can here it on 97.5 FM in DC or 92.9 FM in Northern Virginia. They have all new personalities. (5/10/18)
Why does DCRTV print False Statements from this jerk in Gaithersburg? In a new post he stated that you could buy 1000 Shares of Comcast for $30. This is false. Obviously, he doesn't know what he is talking about. (5/10/18)
Is WBAL TV having issues this morning with their OTA signal or is it my TV? I get everything out of Baltimore BUT WBAL TV here in Aberdeen. Thanks, Tom (5/10/18)
More talk about the use of Channel 6 and one representation that it happens because of a "loophole." the FCC recently solicited comments on the idea of allowing such stations to broadcast an analog radio signal in addition to their digital TV broadcast (I believe that full powered WRGB wanted to do something like this.
While some(including NPR stations that fear interference and AM radio station owners who covet the bandwidth for use as an FM translator) are against his it may very well be explicitly allowed.
Stay tuned. (5/10/18)
Credit where credit is due, mikeomearashow.com had a good interview with Ted Koppel today. Ted says some things that are true, some that are not: he listens to NPR most mornings, before CNN started there was no night-time news, Joe McCarthy was a liar, "when Nightline called" (Nightline grew out of his coverage of the Iranian hostage crisis). A good get by Rob[sic] Spewak, which Mike tainted by saying afterward that he's "been into broadcast journalism for 25 years." So since 1993 Mike? Is that when you started watching the news? Ponderous. But all in all a great interview by Mike O'Meara. Gus in the Gaithersburg (5/10/18)
So what's the deal with WBAL-TV this afternoon? Somebody forget to pay the electric bill? No over-the-air signal on 11-1 or 11-2 , and DISH network is just showing an apology screen about interruption of service and station is "temporarily unavailable". (all current as of 12:40pm, and it's been at least an hour now) Wouldn't expect a tower issue, as WJZ & WMAR seem to be up and running (?) (5/10/18)
This is meant with all due respect for Mr. Kamenetz, and with heartfelt condolences to his family and those who worked with and/or knew him, but did news of his death early this morning on alleged news radio 1090 have to pre-empt all other news and information of this day for the tens of thousands of listeners who do not live in Baltimore County, who wouldn't know him if they fell over him in the street, and who were not shocked, stunned or saddened??? The station pulled nearly all spots and dumped all other programming other than an occasional traffic and weather report, and did nothing but regurgitate the fact that he died over and over, as though they were trying to convince themselves of his passing. They sent one of the station's wanna-be reporters to Towson who gang-banged a live news feed with his chief of staff; then, a few minutes later, the clueless dude who is the so-called host of this morning show brings him up on a phone line and interviews him AGAIN! Then they chop that one interview up and repeat it over and over as if there was no one else in Towson to interview. Then they read tweet after tweet of people expressing their feelings, over and over; people who have openly kicked this candidate for governor in the ass for his incompetence and liberalism and who now want their "moment on the air" to express their feelings over "what a nice guy he was." I nearly vomited. The story is huge for this station and certainly trumped all other news as a lead, but not as exclusive coverage. Someone with an ounce of news sense over there in the morning should have followed that story with at least a few headlines of "other stories making news this morning," such as the arrival of the prisoners released by North Korea and the Orioles snapping a seven-game losing streak. Even the yahoo who does sports on this station couldn't get a minute on the air until nearly 9 a.m. Real news people are not supposed to show emotion, or express shock or sadness; they're supposed to report the news. Hopefully no one else of importance will die this week. I couldn't handle two days of this irresponsible, absurd craziness. (5/10/18)
There might be a lot of excuses and related applications to what WHGM 1330 is doing but the message from FCC applications is clear. They want to slowly decommission the AM station to Class D at 10 watts and look for a transmitter site, you know, just like Birach’s WBVA, WVAB, and DC’s WLXE 1600. They have no interest in doing any tests or studies for a new location and you will see none done either because everybody knows the FCC is a pushover and you can STA shoo shoo them away for 10+ years. Everybody does it, even Clear Channel in Dover, DE with WDOV nearby. I’m not saying it’s not possible they’ll go back to the old site, but their initial CP has been dismissed, so that is currently scuttled as far as the FCC is concerned. Just wait and see. (5/10/18)
Really ??? 105.7 lets Lombardi go. Sort of like cutting the 25th man on an MLB roster or the 53rd NFL player. What a GUTSY MOVE !!! Nice to see Chuckie and/or Dave doing SOMETHING.. As best I can tell, the only changes made since Chuckie came on board was to eliminate the "Vinny's Boom Box" silly ass contest, and move the other dumb ass "Throwdown" from 4:40 to 3:40. Meanwhile, the same tired, worn out shows go on and on unchanged. Question....where can a non-radio person get a PD position? Seems to me that you really don't do anything other than sit on your a$$ all day. So Lombardi goes, and Coleman stays, and we all suffer with another season of the Tom Davis and Dave Johnson "Wall-To-Wall" baseball post game shows. If you're from DC and never hear that train wreck, they have a nightly segment where they discuss the weekly bargains at Weis Supermarkets. Might play well in the NY-Penn league, but pretty pitiful at the MLB level. And I swear, earlier this season when the O's lost 15 to something, Johnson went on and on about a 2-1 pitch by an O's pitcher being called a ball, and how much different it is pitch at 2-2 vs 3-1. Made it sound like giving up 15 runs hinged entirely on that pitch. (5/10/18)
Word on the street is now you can get 1,000 shares of Comcast for $30. Any truth to that rumor Dave? Might be time to take the plunge! Gus in the Gaithersburg, secretly Don Geronimo (5/10/18)
David Field, President of Entercom, is trying to get investors to invest in the company. He has a problem because the stock did sink to $7.80 per share. This is a new low. If the stock continues to sink further, it might be a good investment. Wall Street does not like the stock. We hope the stock goes up! (5/10/18)
Other radio stocks that are NOT doing well now include Urban One at $1.75 per share and Salem at $3.30 per share. The management at both of these companies are getting very high salaries and benefits. (5/10/18)

/\ May 10 Messages /\\/ May 9 Messages \/

Shakeup at 105.7 The Fan. Tony Lombardi, weekend show host and daily guest on Garceau & Conn is fired. (5/9/18)
Urban One got approval for 95.9 FM in DC, so apparently WGRQ wasn’t concerned about interference to its signal in northern VA. (5/9/18)
Yes, it is true.....You can buy 1,000 Shares of Cumulus Stock for $30. It is priced now at 3 cents per share! (5/9/18)
Channel 6 LPTV Stations..... Why did the FCC license Channel 6 Low Power Television Stations? What was their intent? At the time, there were very few television stations owned by Minorities.The Minorities complained that they could not afford to buy TV Stations because of their high price. In order to help them get into TV ownership, the FCC created these LPTV Stations and said that Minorities would have first shot at them. As soon as these licenses were granted, the new owners discovered they could make much more money by using their audio FM Channel as an FM Radio Station on 87.7 FM rather than operate as a television station. These TV stations were soon sold off for big profits. Thus, no operators really operated as they were intended! The FCC said OK! Another loophole in the FCC Rules..... (5/9/18)
Was wondering today: Does WBAL's "Screamin' Scottie" use the same forced 'Professional Radio Guy' voice when ordering at the fast=food drive-thru, when dealing with his insurance company or cable provider, or even his physician? Geez. And while not local, in what may be the shortest "retirement" in radio history, Mike Francesa is back on WFAN weekday afternoons. I think he 'retired Dec. 15. Maybe paying him to come back had something to do with the Entercom stock price decline. I'm sure he doesn't work cheap. (5/9/18)
What is going on with WHGM?
To figure that out, we need to look at WXCY. WXCY has a CP to move their main antenna to their auxiliary transmission site. Their current auxiliary transmission site and antenna used to be their main transmission site and antenna, and it is (was?) the WHGM transmitter site. The WXCY application mentions building a taller tower. Their new tower will be 142.4m tall.
So when WHGM said they lost access to their site for the STA, perhaps they meant “the tower is gone so a taller one can be built for WXCY”.
WHGM has nothing in any of their applications about a taller tower at their transmitter site. So if they plan to go back to that site, they need to apply to use a much taller tower. A 142.4m tower is close to a 5/8 radiator at 1330, which means WHGM could get an efficiency bump if they used it.
So besides speculation, does anyone know what is going on with WHGM?
WXCY moving main to aux: fcc.gov...
WXCY using former main as aux: fcc.gov...
WHGM to class D but no change in tower height:
fcc.gov...
-Steve
(5/9/18)
I know we have one frequent mailbag contributor who is incensed over the use of analog LPTV stations at Channel 6 as "Franken FM" stations. In any event I thought I some might find this article interesting as it discusses the success of this in Chicago and briefly touches on efforts to allow such use permanently (5/9/18)
Entercom stock drops 18 % in value overnight! This is not a good sign when David Field is trying to get investors to invest in the company. He says.... ".things will get better." The same story we have heard from Cumulus and iHeart. The top management told us that if it weren't for the debt, they would be profitable. At 3 cents per share for Cumulus and 52 cents per share for iHeart, things don't look better! (5/9/18)
RE the metallic sound on WMAL, I can’t know the story behind the scenes but there has been a fad in the past few years to employ a box called Voltair to add audio processing in a way to improve People Meter ratings of talk stations, who fear the additional gaps in normal talk could be eroding ratings. The boxes were widely reviled at first for their metallic sound. Some say they can be made reasonably transparent if competently adjusted, but that’s a big if. -Pete the Pontificator (5/9/18)
Dave,
Hi. I know you've mentioned briefly about WCTN before, mostly pertaining to it's AM antenna problems, so I wanted to let you know about 94.3 Takoma Radio's little David vs. Goliath news on the FM side of things, in case you are interested.
Today (May 8), the FCC dismissed the FM translator license application for W257BW filed by WCTN/950, which had been causing interference to WOWD-LP since Labor Day of last year. WCTN has been ordered to cease operation of the translator immediately (though I could still hear it this evening when I was over around Montgomery Mall).
fcc.gov...
The WCTN application sneakily failed to mention WOWD-LP, even though it is nearby. In fact, their predicted 60 dBu contour actually overlapped WOWD-LP’s protected contour. And it turns out they were using a different antenna than the directional one specified in their application. I heard they were also causing interference to the WTOP 94.3 translator up in Frederick, MD, though nothing about that was filed with the FCC.
Anyway, the Takoma Radio team is grateful for the yeoman's efforts of our broadcast counsel Michael Richards and of listeners that cared enough to write testimony of specific cases of interference within the contour. For such a small station, we have a very active & engaged audience.
Thanks,
Stuart (5/9/18)

/\ May 9 Messages /\\/ May 8 Messages \/

(From earlier) "The radio stock prices continue to drop...Cumulus 3 cents per share ... Why would anyone want to invest in these companies? " It is kinda heady to think I could buy a thousand shares of Cumulus stock right now and it would only cost me $30. (5/8/18)
Urban One stock continues to drop. Now down to $1.80 per Share. What I don't understand is how the management of Cumulus and Radio One continue to get big salary increases and bonus when their stock value continues to go down. Cumulus stock is now at 2 cents per share. If their salaries were tied to their stock value, then they would not be receiving these very high million +++ dollar salaries! (5/8/18)
RE: "I live in Northern Virginia and cannot get WMAL 630 AM at night." I do too, on both counts. On one hand, I can say tough noogies, that WMAL has a better NoVa signal on 105.9 FM and any nighttime listening is better done on that band. At the same time, I have to say that speech on WMAL-FM has an annoying metallic edginess to it and is actually fatiguing; especially when Mark Levin uncorks his spleen. Both bands suck rats. For the past few years, the primary push in all WMAL imaging has been FM frequency first, then AM. I get the feeling the company (or its eventual successor) just doesn't care if 630 AM withers and vanishes. They'll take a writeoff on the new diplexing and hang it up. (5/8/18)
On the topic of WMAL, did they lose / are they losing someone in the news department? All Access is running an ad for a news anchor. Time was, when you arrived at a major market station, you came in with trunkloads of experience and credibility. Evidently not anymore. The ad calls for someone with "a minimum of one year’s experience both anchoring and reporting". One year. Wow. (5/8/18)
Regarding the post about 94.9, yeah they have a lot of advertisers, but many of them aren't even paying to be on there. Not trade either, just free spots for no reason. They're still running commercials for businesses that use to advertise on the Seaford station not to mention all the ones they're running who bought from Robin, when she had 94.9. The ones that are paying, get something like 5 commercials a day, every day, for $350 a month. They ran commercials on their station touting that. In reference to the ratings, they haven't shown up at all on this new frequency, which has worse coverage area than the 101.1 they were on. They entire station is a joke, they run things saying they don't take requests, then on the weekend they do an all request 70's show. They're running up and down the beach grabbing as much money as they can from all of these businesses, but no one is listening and who even knows how long this station will be around. Just look at Vince's track record. (5/8/18)

/\ May 8 Messages /\\/ May 7 Messages \/

RE: " WBOC has filed for an FM on 105.3 for WCEM 1240 in Cambridge. " What kind of coverage would this signal have? (5/7/18)
I live in Northern Virginia and cannot get WMAL 630 AM at night. Their new pattern from Germantown only covers that area. I can remember when WMAL use to be Number One in the market! (5/7/18)
Margaret Brennan is the host of CBS News program “Face The Nation”. At the end of the May 6th program, she said that “Face The Nation” will be in a new building next door to the current CBS News bureau next Sunday. (5/7/18)
The radio stock prices continue to drop. Investors who thought these stocks would be a good investment now realize that they have been a terrible investment. Here is an update on some of the radio companies......Cumulus 3 cents per share, iHeart 52 cents per share, Urban One $1.90 per share and Salem $3.45 per share. Why would anyone want to invest in these companies? (5/7/18)
In response to Doug Kammerer not acting professional on the air, WJLA now has weather on the go. Bill Kelly is at National Harbor, the Nationals game, the zoo or riding in a go cart. I'm not sure what that has to do with weather. Most broadcasts even in the studio he doesn't wear a sport coat. I guess WJLA is going for more casual. I miss Doug Hill. He was a total professional. TV stations now are moving from news to entertainment. So why call themselves news? I used to think WRC was the best but if Doug Kammerer is being told to take it lightly, I'm not sure. (5/7/18)
Update: As of 6:00 am Monday, WAMD is on the air (5/7/18)
WBOC has filed for an FM on 105.3 for WCEM 1240 in Cambridge. Do they intend for you to hear WBOC all the way to the beach or is it just for WCEM AM 1240 and Adult Standards? Hmm. (5/7/18)

/\ May 7 Messages /\\/ May 6 Messages \/

Re.: KHZ---Dead air on AM 970 in Aberdeen (WAMD) as well. (5/6/18)
Angie Goff must be the luckiest person on earth to score that boondoggle of a trip to the UK to cover the Royale Wedding with cheese. (5/6/18)
What’s behind the wall to wall music without jocks, ads, news or weather? I figure you have the inside on this weirdness. Great video on WMALs tower site. A sad day on Greentree Road.
Thanks, Dave.
Tony (5/6/18)

/\ May 6 Messages /\\/ May 5 Messages \/

To the person running the 24x7 Old Time Radio format on AM 1710 in North Laurel. Your signal covers much of Laurel and Burtonsville quite well including the local Laurel FCC monitoring station environs.... not too bright. Perhaps it is meant as a lunchtime DF training exercise. (5/5/18)
Yes, the new WMAL transmitter site will have some losers. AM 630 will no longer be available in Columbia, parts north of Laurel, or Clarksville or even Frederick. The WWRC AM 570 pattern adds 3 nulls to the AM 630 signal that previously weren’t there, north, northeast & south. The lack of Virginia reception is more than made up by 105.9 FM, but not the northeast or north. That’s listeners gone from both, and not ones that can receive WBAL or WCBM either. Obviously they know this. There is program duplication on other stations in Frederick, but not in Columbia. It’s funny that the FCC has an office in Columbia. It’s an area of bad radio reception in general with DC & Baltimore stations having nulls towards each other. Ironic that the FCC is in a place where it’s difficult to get radio. (5/5/18)

/\ May 5 Messages /\\/ May 4 Messages \/

Well this cant be good ... WTNT 730 AM, normally the loudest signal on the AM dial if you live in NoVa, is dead quiet at 8 AM on Friday morning (5/4). And according to my SDR display, they're not even airing an unmodulated carrier. That sumbitch is COLD! (5/4/18)
Hey Deejays ... better get your turntables up on Craigslist NOW: www.radiomagonline.com (5/4/18)
Can Doug Kammerer act more like a senior meteorologist and less a carnival barker and entertainer? Ski trips, Olympics and ballparks? Just do the weather. And, stop frightening the viewers with predictions of doom which rarely come true. Things happen to change the weather on any given day but let's be more professional and serious about the news of the local weather. Less terror and more information. Also, while I'm at it, why doesn't WRC-TV NBC4 add wind direction to their weather maps. It really is important. (5/4/18)

/\ May 4 Messages /\\/ May 3 Messages \/

A short but handsome treatment in Radio World of the WMAL-AM transmitter site switch:
www.radioworld.com (5/3/18)

/\ May 3 Messages /\\/ May 2 Messages \/

I will be very surprised if WHUT is willing to take on the political risk of re-broadcasting 3 Chinese channels at a time when Chinese broadcasters are being threatened with having to register with the government as foreign agents. How will the student body at Howard react? (5/2/18)
WMAL 630 AM nighttime signal is terrible now. It has become a Germantown, MD Station now, rather than a DC Station. How the mighty have fallen! (5/2/18)

Dave's response: Seriously, do any of WMAL's listeners listen on AM? I'd bet at least 95 percent is a combination of online and via FM 105.9.....
If Cumulus comes our of Bankruptcy, does that mean their creditors will get paid? How about Nielsen? (5/2/18)
Is WPRS 104.1 in DC For Sale? Urban One just sold Praise 102.7 in Detroit. The price was $13 Million. WPRS 104.1 in DC would be worth more than the Detroit Station. (5/2/18)

Dave's response: K-Love would love to get their hands on an (almost) inside the Beltway FMer. They're actually showing up in the ratings with rimshot 94.3 in Warrenton they bought from Dan Snyder.....
Is this not an interesting juxtaposition? Someone complains that Sputnik Radio (Russian government station) is broadcast on a small station at the top end of the dial and on a LP FM, and two items below it is an announcement that Howard University is going to broadcast on its full power TV station three stations of the Chinese Government. Personally, they all can do whatever they want; I don't care. Remember, WYPR in Baltimore broadcasts foreign government programs (BBC) 24 hours a day also, on its HD-2 output. -- Carl in Olney (5/2/18)
Not a whole lot going on with the KHZ TV network radio stations these days (khztv.com). Two video channels are dark, the primary KHZ channel won't start, and WYRE, now silent, just displays a "Not Found" title. Damn ... nothing to do now but listen to WBAL. (5/2/18)
REF: [Lots to complain about regarding 1090] Dude, no one is "complaining." The point of the earlier post was to question why WBAL TV and the station's sister radio station, alleged news radio 1090, are running spots for a competing television station news operation that is vying for the same audience and ratings; not programming, NEWS. Alleged news radio would NEVER run a spot promoting its competitor, WCBM, so why are they running spots for a station competing for news (not programming) ratings?? It would be no different than Ford sponsoring a radio program and playing Chevrolet commercials. Ford didn't drive around in a Chevy, so why should WBAL drive viewers to the competition??? Again, what am I missing here??? (5/2/18)
REF: [Is WBAL the only station that you listen to?] No! Thanks to the WBFF-Fox45 News commercials then ran, I tune into them instead. (5/2/18)
WBFF has run ads on newsradio 1090 for many years. That’s not a problem. What is a problem is 1090's complete lack of real news. Take Wednesday morning for example. Screamin Scotty drove all the way to Annapolis to grunt and growl his way through a contrived teacher salary story that was on WBAL-TV Tuesday night at 6. They did nothing to take the story to another level. They just played the audio clips that were on TV the night before. It was their lead story all morning long in their cookie cutter format. But at least he could say he was in Annapolis so that the program director and GM could have a line for their next promo. Snore. Snore. Snore. What a shame to see a once great news station so dismantled by small town thinkers. (5/2/18)
On the occasion of today's retirement of the legacy WMAL-AM transmitter site on Greentree Road in Bethesda, my video treat to you. -P of the AW (5/2/18)

I think it’s so easy to blame Bill Lord for everything wrong at 9, but let’s remember he did turn 7 into a news leader from the mid 2000s until Sinclair took over. 9’s issue in general is TEGNA’s consultants who think social media opinion based newscasts is the way to draw in younger viewers. While 9 now has the best looking set in DC, the content is still crap. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good special project sweeps story, but these new WUSA originals belong in the b-block near main weather, not taking up half the A-block where they dedicate less than 5 minutes to the actual news of the day. In the mornings, a comedian should not be anchoring the key 6am hour.
The problem with television news everywhere is they bring in these consultants who are there for business purposes and don’t know the markets with the sole purpose to make the station more money. Therefore, this allows what we have seen happen in DC over the last decade where we have 3 stations now competing for the most crappy newscast, while the solid one does what they have always done the news while serving the community with lite fluff. (5/2/18)
WMAL 630 AM has moved to their new tower site in Germantown, MD. They will diplex with WWRC 570 AM in Germantown. You sure can tell the difference in their signal now. Their coverage is drastically reduced.When they were in Bethesda, they had one of the best AM signals in the market. No More! (5/2/18)

/\ May 2 Messages /\\/ May 1 Messages \/

re.: WBAL 1090 and Fox45. I have to ask...is WBAL the only station that you listen too ? Geez. Every TV sweeps period, Sinclair bombards the radio airwaves with promos for all thing Sinclair, from the news to Jeopardy/Wheel, to Family Feud, and Big Bang, and whatever other syndicated shows they have on 45 and 54. Did you just miss the connection with these spots also on 'BAL and other stations? Look, there's lots to complain about regarding 1090. This ain't one of them. (5/1/18)
Sputnik Radio, the company owned by the Russian Government, can be heard in DC on 105.5 FM or 1390 AM. They are paying John Garziglia, the Communications Attorney, $900,000 to carry their Russian Propaganda. (5/1/18)
Long ago star of local TV commercials, Jhoon "Nobody Bothers Me" Rhee, died yesterday in hospice care at the age of 86. A 10th degree karate black belt, Rhee's commercials (mostly produced at WDCA-20), featured his children and were a staple of local TV in the 1970's. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (5/1/18)
Howard University’s WHUT 32 is adding some former MHz channels soon, CCTV News, CCTV Documentaries, and CNC World. And WBOC/Draper’s new LPTV WSJZ 33 is proposing to move to channel 34, same as WRC TV’s repack location. With the signal near Rehoboth Beach from the WXDE 105.9 tower, it won’t pose any signal problem for NBC 4. Unclear what the programming will be. WBOC already has WBOC 42, soon with Telemundo, which will be displaced in the repack ultimately, so it’s possible that will be used as a displacement channel? WBOC hasn’t as of yet filed a displacement channel selection for channel 42. And on to Sinclair, the new sales agreement with Standard Media is interesting with plenty of blackouts. This affects nearby WPMT Fox 43 York PA and WRLH Fox 35 in Richmond, both of which Sinclair cannot keep. It’s unclear how long or to what extent Sinclair will be managing these TV stations. Interesting that the owner of Standard Media has 100% of the vote, but only .1% of the equity. Hmm. — BaltoMedia.net (5/1/18)
WCRW AM 1190 is going to have a full time night time signal soon with Class B status. They are doing final testing from Dulles, but only 1200 watts will not cover the DC market very well at all. You’ll hear it best at Dulles Airport at night. — BaltoMedia.net (5/1/18)
Smash Hits WHGM AM 1330 is attempting to power down the 5000 watt AM transmitter to 10 watts you'll never hear as it dismantles the AM radio station under Special Temporary Authority if approved by the FCC. They originally claimed they were switching from 3 towers to 1, but then said they've been evicted from the site completely. Both cannot be true. Let's all hope that the FCC denies this application. This is a blatant attempt to abuse FCC rules to effectively shut down an AM radio station to use 3 FM signals, 100.5, 104.7, and 107.5 FM and ditch the AM radio signal. The FCC designed low power FM to help AM radio stations, not make them abandon the towers and mothball stations. This is a blatant attempt to mothball WHGM AM 1330 using an STA at 10 watts. —BaltoMedia.net (5/1/18)
What 'talent' is there over at channel 50? Isn't the station mostly a playback and feed-thru operation with a newscast originating out of Richmond? (5/1/18)
Re. WBAL 1090 running Fox 45 ads. The station has been doing this on and off for years. It all comes down to needing the money. (5/1/18)
This is in response to Dave's reply to my post of 4/29 regarding Andrea Roane's retirement. I totally agree. WUSA9 and WJLA are just silly talk shows. To me, contests, field trips and exercise classes have no place on news. Why they start at 4:30 for 2 1/2 hours of drivil is beyond me. I don't watch Fox 5 because I can't get channel 5 very well. I don't have cable. WRC is the only news station worth watching. The other 3 should throw in the towel and just do 6:30-7 of news. The rest they should just honestly call a talk show. When Veronica Johnson started on WJLA, instead of doing weather, they had her doing a week of field trips. I have no idea why. I know Bill Lord doesn't work for WUSA9 anymore but he's the one that started the formula. When WJLA first started calling themselves Good Morning Washington, they were doing news. At least WJLA could move the crap to News Channel 8 and leave WJLA for NEWS!
(5/1/18)

/\ May 1 Messages /\Messages from April 1 to April 30 can be reached HERE.....